Chief Of Defence Staff. India

What is CDS?

1. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) considered a ‘dual-hatted role’ is a new structure created in the Defence Ministry.

2. The dual-hatted role refers to the two hats the CDS wears-

a. one as the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee which has the three service chiefs as members, and

b. other of the head of the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the ministry.

3. The former is a military role while the latter is a role in the government.

4. As the head of DMA, CDS will discharge major responsibilities within the ministry.

5. CDS has the status of a Cabinet Secretary but functionally will head a department headed by a Secretary.

6. CDS will be under a ministry where the Defence Secretary is in charge of the ministry.

How many other departments does the Defence Ministry have?

1. It had four departments: Department of Defence; Department of Defence Production; Department of Defence Research and Development; and Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, each headed by a Secretary.

2. Department of Defence was the nerve centre of the ministry, looking after all issues pertaining to the armed forces, defence policy and procurement.

3. The duties of the DMA were looked after by the Department of Defence, headed by the Defence Secretary who is also the secretary in-charge of the Defence Ministry.

4. Work exclusively pertaining to military matters will fall within the purview of the DMA while the Department of Defence will deal with larger issues pertaining to defence of the country.

5. For example, tri-service military training institutions will fall under the DMA, organisations like IDSA and NDC whose remit is broader than military matters will fall under the Department of Defence.

Where do the armed forces figure in the structure?

1. The armed forces are attached offices in the ministry.

2. They will come under the ambit of DMA, which were previously under the Department of Defence.

3. They will have an appropriate mix of civilian and military officers at every level.

Role of attached offices

1. They are generally responsible for providing executive direction.

2. They will implement policies laid down by the DMA.

3. They also serve as a repository of technical information and advise the department on technical aspects.

4. In essence, they are executive agencies carrying out directions of the Defence Ministry.

5. The defence ministry drafts them, obtain approval from the government and communicate them for implementation to the defence services.

Why is CDS considered as advisory service?

1. The CDS will act as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister only on tri-services matters and without military command.

2. The three service chiefs will also continue to advise the Defence Minister on matters exclusively concerning their respective services.

3. The service chiefs will be members of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, which will be headed by the CDS.

5. The DMA, headed by the CDS, will also have the armed forces under its ambit, but will not curtail the powers of the service chiefs.

6. CDS changes only the role of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, which used to be headed by the senior-most chief by rotation.

Which are the tasks assigned to the CDS?

1. CDS has to bring about jointness in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, and repairs and maintenance of the three services within three years.

2. As the head of the DMA, CDS will facilitate the restructuring of military commands for optimal utilization of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of joint/ theatre commands